Conveyer mechanism



Sept. 26, 1944.

K. C. .S. AASTED CONVEYER MECHANISM Filed Aug 10, 1940 4 shah-shay 1 S p 6. 1944- K. c. s. AASTED 2,359,070

CONVEYER MECHANISM Filed Aug. 10, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 324 3; 325 Ef l *4- I Fig? V3 jA ans/v 7-0 7 Sept. 1944- K. c. s. AA STED 2,359,070

CONVEYER MECHANISM Filed Aug. 10,- 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 K. C. S. AASTED CONVEYER' MECHANISM Filed Aug. 10, 1940 Sept. 26, 1944.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Sept. 26,, 1944 Kai Christian Sophus Aasted, Gentofte, near Copenhagen, Denmark; vested in the Alien Property Custodian Application August In Denmark 4 Claims.

My invention relates to a conveyer mechanism for use in'connection with'machines for casting chocolate and the like. The invention can be used in connection with machines adapted either to cast solid chocolate or the like in the form of cakes or pastilles or to cast chocolate shells which are filled with another mass to form creams. In certain cases the invention can also be applied to machines for coating arbitrary goods'with chocolate. 7

In chocolate casting machines it is common practice to use a conveyer" belt of considerable extension, serving to carry mould plates through Various sections of the machine. Said mould plates are provided with cavities in which the chocolate is cast. the mould plates are carried through a refrigerating chamber in which the chocolate is congealed. Then the mould plates are turned upside down and the cast chocolate pieces are discharged by beating or by vibrating the mould plates. Finally the empty moulds are heated and carried back to the place of casting. During the whole cycle the mould plates remain in connectiOn with the conveyer belt.

In such machines it is known to connect the mould plates fixedly to the conveyer belt so that they always occupy the same position as the latter, which involves that the conveyer belt after the place of casting must have a horizontal flight of considerable length upwards or downwards before the chocolate is mainly stifi.

It is also known to connect holders carrying the mould plates to .the conveyer belt by means of studs at the leading edge of each holder. The holders then normally slide in horizontal position over guides arranged along the path ofthe conveyer belt and by special means it is possible to retain this horizontal position of the holders when the conveyer belt is led over a pulley between two horizontal flights thereof. Th s, however. leads to complicated mechanisms which are. subjected to a material wear duringuse.

The main object of the invention is to obviate these drawbacks and to provide a conveyer mechanism' in which the angle position of the mould plates is made independent of the direction .of

movement ofthe conveyer belt and in which the angle position of each mould plate can be altered at an arbitrary stage of its travel and to an arbitrary degree.

Another object of the invention is to arrange the conveyer mechanism in such manner that it 1940, Serial No. 352,164 February 27, 1939 can be driven by small power and without mate- After the casting operation as it, can not be carried of a metal plate [2 rial wear.

A further object of the invention is to provide means by which the mould plates can be connected to frames carried by the conveyer belt in reliable manner so that the mould plates are held safely locked to the frames during the operation of the conveyer belt, irrespective of the angle position of the mould plates in the space.

According to a further object said latter means should be so constructedthat the mould plates can be connected to and removed from the mould frames by simple manipulations.

The invention, is illustrated by way of example in the. accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a top, View of .a mould plate arranged in a mould. frame carried by a conveyer belt formed by two roller chains, parts being broken awayv to show the means by which the plate. is locked to the frame,

Fig. 2 is aside elevation. of the same parts partly in section along the. line II-JI in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3.shows the mould frame in a perspective view,

under different circumstances positions,

Fig. 7 is a perspective View showing part of one roller. chain as .it passesa sprocket wheel and partly two mouldframes'carried. by the. chain and the means used for guiding the. frames dur ing their. passagefrom the upper to the lower horizontal flight of the chain,

Fig. 8 shows the same the two chain fl ghts form a right angle to each other andthat the guiding. means are suited to this altered conditions;

Fig. 9 shows at a reduced scale the means used for turning a. mould frame duringthe advancement of theconveyer belt.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 each mould consists provided. with depressions M formingmould cavities. The edges of the plate l2 are secured. e. g. by soldering, to a circumferential flange Hi; the end pieces of which are provided with inclined faces l8, .by which the and in different mould. plate is locked to the corresponding. mould frame, as will be described lateron.

The mould'frame, as appears from Fig- 3, is

chains 26, Figs. land 2, forming together the.

previously named. conveyer belt. To each end of Figs. 4, 5 and Gshow the mouldframe. as viewed. from one end and. guided .by guiding members.

with the exception. that.

' ing 30 is secured an oblong guiding piece 32 having two straight parallel guiding. edge faces 34 and at each end two inclined edge face 36 forming with the faces 34 an angle of 45 degrees; as

' it appears most clearly from Fig. 3. The two guiding pieces 32 at opposite ends of the mould frames 20, 22 are arranged at right angles to each other. The purpose and operation of the guiding pieces 32 will be explained later on.

Inside each frame two latch pieces 38 and 40 are arranged, each being provided at its top with two projections 42 having a hook shaped crosssection, the hooks on the two pieces 38 and 4|! facing against each other. The latch piece 31B'is secured to the mould frame, e. g. by its ends being welded to the side pieces 22. The latch piece 46 is displaceable in the mould frame, guided partly by a bushing 44 secured to the piece 40 and slidable on the rod 24and partly by the ends of the piece 40 sliding along the body of the T-profile of the side pieces 221 The piece 40 is yieldingly pressed against the piece 38 by means of coiled springs 46 surrounding studs 48 secured'to one of the plates 20 and provided with enlarged heads 50 restricting the displacement of the piece 43 against the-piece 38, vide Fig. 1.

When a mould plate 12 is to be connected to the corresponding mould frame 20, 22the face l8 at its left hand end, as viewed in Fig. 2, i pushed in beneath the hook shaped end of the projections 42 on the latch piece 38, the flange l6 at the right'hand end of the mould plate [2 resting. at this time on the inwardly inclined hook faces at the top of the projections 42 on the latch piece 40. When now a downward pressure is exerted on the mould plate I 2, especially on the right part thereof, the latch piece 40 will be displaced to the right against the action of the springs 46 sliding mainly on the rod 24, and at last, when the lower edge of the flange l6 has passed the end of the hooks, the latch piece 40 will be moved backwards by the springs 46 with a snap action and the mould plate l2 will be held locked securely in the position shown in Fig. 2. In this position the lower part of the edge flange l6 on the mould plate [2 will be surrounded at all sides by the corresponding mould frame 20, 22 so that the mould plate can not be displaced laterally and thereby be disengaged from the mould frame. The mould plate can be unlocked only by displacing the latch piece 43 to the right as indicated by an arrow in Fig. 2. To this end the piece 40 has a downward extension 4| which can be acted upon either by hands or by a stationary cam, not

shown, during. the movement of the conveyer belt.

When the conveyer belt, i. e. the chains 26, are moved during theoperation of the chocolate casting machine the guiding pieces 32 are used for holding the mould frames and thus the mould plates in certain predetermined angle positions.

Generally it is wished to keep the mouldplates ina horizontal position. If th 'conveyer belt moves in a horizontal direction, a shown by an arrow inFig. 4, one guiding edge 34 of the back guiding piece 32 slides along a stationary guiding member in the form of a metal band or strip 52 arranged along the path of the conveyer.

If th conveyer beltmove in a vertical direction, as indicated by an arrow in Fig. 5, one guiding edge 34 of the front guiding piece 32 slides along a stationary guiding member in the form of a metal band or strip 54 arranged along the path of the conveyer at this part of its travel. It will be understood that the bands or strips 52 and 54 are arranged at opposite sides of the path of movement of the mould plates and frames and inside the conveyer chains. As the guidin pieces 32 and their corresponding guiding members are spaced to a considerable degree perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the conveyer'belt, it will be evident that no exact construction of the mechanism is required ,to'secure that each guiding member will co-act with its own guiding piece only. y

In Fig, 6 it is supposed that it is wished to keep the mould plate and thus th mould frame in a tively in the position in question. By using other 'of the inclined faces 36 on the guiding pieces 32 it will be possible to obtain other angles than degrees to the horizontal or vertical direction.

In Fig. 7 is illustrated how the mould frames are guided when passing from an upper horizontal flight to a lower horizontal flight of the conveyer belt. In this figure is shown one of the conveyer chains 26 running over a sprocket wheel 60. A mould frame 20, 22 of the previously described kind journalled on the shaft 24 has just arrived at the sprocket 6D. The back horizontal guiding piece 32 on the frame 20, 22 has just left its guiding strip 52, see Fig. 4, and at the same time the front vertical guiding piece 32 abuts against the vertical guiding edge of a yielding guiding member 62 supported by arms 64 from a shaft 66 which is mounted swingable in suitable bearings, not shown. The guiding face of the member 62 is preferably parallel to the axis of the shaft 66. The frame formed by the member 62, the arms 64 and the 'shaft 66 is acted upon by a spring which schematically is shown as a coiled spring 68, the ends of which are secured to one arm 64 and a fixed point 10, respectively.

When from the position shown the chain 26 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrows at its ends, the guiding member 62 will remain resting against the corresponding guiding piece 32 with a pressure exerted by the spring 68. Thus the mould frame 20, 22 will remain in a horizontal position during its passage to the lower chain flight and simultaneously the guiding member 62 will be swung a certain angleto and fro about the axis of the shaft 66. When the mould frame has reached the lower position shown, its back guiding piece 32 will be guided by a guiding strip 52' similar to the strip 52 during the further horizontal movement of the frame.

It will be understood that two successive mould frames will occupy the positions-shown in Fig. 7 and that accordingly the front guiding piece 32 on the lower mould frame will be released from the guiding member 62. when the front guiding piece 32 on the upper mould frame reaches the said member 62. Y a

' In Fig. 7, 12 represents rails on which the chain rollers of the upper and lower flight of the chain are running.

When the two flights of the chain 26 running over the sprocket wheel 60 form a right angle; as shown in Fig. 8, the guiding member, as shown at 62', is shortened so that from the upper arm 64 it extends to the level of the axis of the sprocket 60 only. When the sprocket 60 has been turned a quarter of a revolution from the position shown, the front guiding piece 32 has swung the guiding member 62' to a position in which it is fiush with the front surface of the vertical guiding strip 54, see Fig. 5. Now this strip 54 takes over the guiding of the guiding piece 32, and when this latter is moved away from the guiding member 62 the latter is swung back by the spring 68 againsta stationary abutment l4 and is clear to take care of the guiding of the next mould frame.

In Fig. 9, which illustrates the manner of turning the mould frames through an arbitrary angle, is shown the front guiding piece 32A of the mould frame in full lines and the back guiding piece 323 of the same mould frame in dotted lines as viewed in the direction of the axis of rotation of the mould frame. The mould frame is moved by the conveyer belt in the direction of the arrow and the center of the guiding pieces moves along the dash and dot line shown.

In the path of the guiding piece 32A is mounted a stationary abutment in the form of a roller 76 rotatable on a pivot pin 78. When the guiding piece 32A abuts against the roller 16 and the mould frame and thus the said piece are further advanced in the direction of the arrow, the piece 32A is turned by a right angle to the position 32A and at the same time the piece 32B is moved to the position 323 In the position 32A the guiding piece is guided by a guiding strip 80 to prevent over-turning. When the front guiding piece has been moved free from the strip 80 to the position 32A the back guiding piece 32B occupies the position 32B Now this latter piece strikes a stationary abutment roller 82 arranged in its path and by the further movement of the conveyer belt the pieces 32A and 32B are turned by 90 degrees to the positions 32A and 323 respectively. If by an abutment a less angle of rotation than 90 degrees is wished, the abutment is arranged further away from the path of the axis and if the mould frame is to be held in an intermediate position, the means shown in Fig. 6 can be used.

It will appear from the above description that by the conveyer mechanism described it is possible to retain the mould frames and the moulds in a certain angle position independent of the travel of the conveyer belt past pulleys and in horizontal and vertical directions and that furthermore it is possible to turn the frames and the moulds to any angle position practically required at any place of their travel.

It is preferred to let the axis of rotation of the mould frames pass approximately through the center of gravity of the combined mould and frame as then these two members will be substantially in equilibrium in all positions and then they can be turned and guided with less possible power and wear. The invention, however, is not restricted to this special arrangement or to the embodiment shown and described as various modifications may be introduced within the scope of the invention without departing from the spirit thereof as will be evident to those skilled in the art.

Having thusfully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A conveyer mechanism for use in machines for casting chocolate and the like, comprising conveyer chains, sprockets over which said chains run, a number of mould frames mounted freely rotatable between said chains, and fixed and yielding guiding members arranged along the path of the conveyer chains, at least two guiding faces being provided in fixed connection with each mould frame for cooperating with the guiding members, one yielding guiding member being arranged at each sprocket for cooperating with one guiding face on each frame during its movement past the sprocket, said yielding guiding member being mounted swingabl against spring action.

2. A conveyer mechanism for use in machines for casting chocolate and the like, comprising conveyer chains, sprockets over which said chains run, a number of mould frames mounted freely rotatable between said chains, and fixed and yielding guiding members arranged along the path of the conveyer chains, at least two guiding faces being provided in fixed connection with each mould frame for cooperating with the guiding members, one yielding guiding member being arranged at each sprocket for cooperating with one guiding face on each frame during its movement past the sprocket, said yielding guiding member being swingable about an axis parallel to its guiding face.

3. A conveyer mechanism for use in machines for casting chocolate and the like, comprising conveyer chains, sprockets over Which the chains run, a number of frames mounted rotatable between the chains, and fixed and yielding guiding members arranged along least two guiding faces being provided in fixed connection with each frame for cooperating with the guiding members, one guiding member mounted swingably against spring action being arranged at each sprocket for cooperating with one guiding face on each frame duringits movement past the sprocket.

4. A conveyer mechanism for use in machines for casting chocolate and the like, comprising conveyer chains, sprockets over which the chains run, a number of frames mounted rotatable between the chains, and fixed and yielding guiding members arranged along the path of the chains, at least two guiding faces being provided in fixed connection with each frame for cooperating with the guiding members, one guiding member swingable about an axis parallel to its guiding face' being arranged at each sprocket for cooperating with one guiding face on each frame during its movement past the sprocket.

KAI CHRISTIAN SOPHUS AASTED.

the path of the chains, at. 

